


Aftermath

by lostresidentevilpotter



Series: Crash Prequels [3]
Category: Fear the Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-07
Updated: 2019-08-07
Packaged: 2020-08-11 15:57:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,999
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20156212
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lostresidentevilpotter/pseuds/lostresidentevilpotter
Summary: “The hurricane’s over, and it’s just me, you, and a kid. What can go wrong?”Apparently, a lot.





	Aftermath

Al doesn’t bother to mask the surprise she feels when she spots Alicia and Charlie strolling up the road, looking worse for wear. The gun barrel dangles from Alicia’s fingertips, and she’s down to a tank top and jeans, although there’s a black shirt tied around her waist and a backpack on her back. They’re both drenched. The rain only stopped a couple hours ago, but who knows how long they’ve been out here, walking? Al stands in the back of the van on the top step, wearing a dumbfounded look, as Alicia and Charlie steadily approach.

“You’re by yourself?” Alicia questions once she’s within earshot.

“June took off,” Al replies cautiously. She doesn’t miss the way Alicia’s eyes drop to her hip, to the handgun holstered there, even though Al had told Alicia she’s a terrible shot with handguns. And she kind of is, but she ran out of bullets for her rifle, so she’ll take what she can get. “As soon as the storm passed,” Al clarifies. “I’m back on my feet, so she went looking for John.”

“But you stayed,” Alicia says.

Al shrugs. “I stayed. Looks like that decision’s paying off.”

Alicia lips twist into a short lived smile. Their eyes lock, and Al holds back the one question she’s dying to ask. _If you’re the only one with Charlie, why isn’t she dead? _Based on the sour look on Alicia’s face, she can tell that Al wants to ask. Al puts that question aside, for now, as she and Alicia size each other up. Whatever bug Al had caught hasn’t been completely eradicated by the antibiotics, and she’s still paler than normal and sorta sweaty, but maybe Alicia thinks Al got herself caught in the rain or something.

“You gonna let us in?” Alicia finally asks.

“Depends,” Al says wryly. “Can you pay the admission price?”

Alicia smirks. “No.”

Al smiles and shifts aside, nodding her head toward the inside of the van. “C’mon. We’ll find you some dry clothes.”

Charlie hurries into the van, but Alicia takes her time. She joins Al on the top step and stops, and for a moment, they both just stare into each other’s eyes. Al cracks first, grinning widely, and Alicia matches the grin with one of her own.

“I’m glad you’re okay,” Alicia says. She pushes her fingertips playfully against Al’s stomach and ducks into the van. Alicia spins back around, though, and adds, “That’s a good look for you.”

“Huh?” Al says, looking down. She’s wearing pretty much what she was when they’d gotten split up in the first place, before the hurricane rolled through. Gray button down over an olive green tank top and dark pants. Before Al can figure out what the hell Alicia’s talking about, Alicia explains herself.

“Yeah, the whole unbuttoned shirt thing,” Alicia mumbles, gesturing vaguely in Al’s direction. “It’s a good look.”

Al nods, wearing her confusion proudly, but Alicia turns away from her. “So what’re you guys doing out here?” Al asks.

“Looking for you and the others,” Alicia answers. She waves off Al’s attempt to hand her dry clothes.

“Well, you’ve got me,” Al says.

“Now we just need the others,” Charlie jumps in.

Al points a finger at her. “You got that.”

Charlie beams, but Alicia shakes her head. “A lot of the roads are flooded,” she informs. “Both with water and the dead.”

“A little water never hurt anybody,” Al dismisses. “The dead, though…I mean, we can handle the dead, right?”

“Normally,” Alicia agrees. “But there’s a psychotic bitch out there that’s set on getting Morgan. Can we handle that?”

Al presses her lips together and shrugs. “I live in a tank,” she reminds. “A tank versus a single psychotic bitch? Where are you placing your bets?”

Alicia grins. “You’re pretty funny when you want to be.”

“It’s one of my many talents.”

“We need a plan,” Alicia decides. “A real one. We need to know how we’re going to reach the others before the psycho bitch does.”

“Maybe we shouldn’t say bitch in front of the kid,” Al muses.

“I’m twelve.”

“You’re young,” Al replies.

“I know worse words.”

“Guys, focus,” Alicia interrupts.

“Right,” Al says before she can accidentally launch herself into an argument with a twelve year old over swearing. “A plan.” She runs her hand through her hair and shrugs. “I don’t know. It seems pretty simple to me. Grab our friends. Leave? The hurricane’s over, and it’s just me, you, and a kid. What can go wrong?”

Apparently, a lot.

They don’t make it a full mile before the road turns into a mini lake. The van screeches to a halt, and Al sighs.

“Told you,” Alicia says calmly. “Are you ready to talk about an actual plan now?”

“Nope,” Al says. She glances to the back of the van at Charlie. “You got a seatbelt on, kid? It’s gonna be a rough ride.”

Alicia’s eyes widen. “No,” she says, reaching over and grasping onto Al’s arm. “You’re not – you aren’t going to try to drive through that.”

Al grins lopsidedly. “Maybe I am. Maybe I’m not. Everyone likes a little mystery.”

That’s the lingering illness talking. Well, the illness plus Al’s regular old stupidity, Al supposes. Still, she prepares to force the SWAT van through the water. How deep can it really be, anyway?

“You can’t do that,” Alicia insists. “We don’t know how deep it is. We’ll get stuck, and that water’s probably full of the dead.”

“You need to learn to live a little, Alicia.”

Alicia’s grasp on Al’s arm tightens. “Don’t,” she warns.

“Don’t?” Al laughs. “Or else what?”

“I’ll fight you,” Alicia says.

“Oh, a rematch?” Al challenges. She cracks her knuckles, then her neck, and says, “You’re going down.”

“Um, guys,” Charlie says. They both look back, but she’s pointing out the windshield. “Sorry to interrupt whatever that was, but we have a bigger problem.”

Both Al and Alicia turn to look where Charlie’s pointing. At first, there doesn’t seem to be anything out of the ordinary. But then it pops up from the water. A head. And where there’s one, there’s usually many.

“Al,” Alicia says.

“Yeah?”

“Drive in reverse. Now.”

Al nods, fumbling with the gearshift. One by one, the dead emerge from the water, shambling toward the SWAT van with their arms outstretched. Their time in the water hasn’t done them any favors, that’s for sure. It seems to have accelerated their decomposition rate. Most of them look like their skin’s hanging off their bones, but that’s not stopping them.

“It’s like an army,” Charlie says.

“Thanks, kid,” Al replies. “That’s exactly what I needed to hear. Hold on.”

Al hits the gas, and the van speeds backward. Alicia holds on for her life, but Charlie looks like she’s on a rollercoaster or something.

“Stop. Stop!” Alicia shouts.

Al slams the breaks reflexively, and they’re all jostled around as the van stops moving. “What’s the fucking problem?” Al bursts.

“They’re behind us,” Alicia says faintly.

“What?” Al says. She doesn’t wait for Alicia’s response. She unbuckles her seatbelt and hauls herself into the back, peering through the windows in the back doors. She can totally drive through those few stragglers – until she sees what’s amassed behind the stragglers. “They’re boxing us in,” Al mutters.

“You say that like they can think,” Alicia snaps. She unbuckles her own seatbelt and joins Al and Charlie in the back.

“I’m not saying they can think,” Al retorts. “I’m saying, they’re targeting the one loud thing in the area for miles, probably, and we just happen to be inside it.”

“And you wanted to drive through that newly formed lake that the road’s become,” Alicia says, shaking her head. “Unbelievable.”

“You know what, Alicia?” Al says. “We really shouldn’t argue about what I may or may not have wanted to do when we’ve got about three hundred walking corpses coming our way.”

“What are we going to do?” Charlie asks. Both Al and Alicia look to her, and for the first time since Al’s met Charlie, the kid actually looks afraid. To be fair, Al hasn’t known Charlie long. And she’s only twelve. But it’s not helping Al wrangle her own anxiety into place. But Al and Alicia are the adults, and even in this world, Al supposes that still means something.

“We’ll figure it out,” Al assures Charlie. She turns her gaze to Alicia. “Right, Alicia?”

Alicia purses her lips. “Right,” she agrees. “Please, _please_ tell me you have ammo for the van’s guns.”

“I do,” Al says. She winces and scratches at the back of her head.

Alicia raises her eyebrows. “Well? Give me the bad news.”

“It’s only enough for one blast.”

Alicia nods. “Great,” she says. “It’s a last ditch effort sort of thing then, huh?”

“Pretty much.”

“So we have to fight them on our own?” Charlie asks.

“That’s where we start,” Al says. Charlie’s eyes widen, and Al quickly adds, “_We _meaning me and Alicia. You’re staying here.”

“And if you guys die?” Charlie blurts. “No offense, but Alicia and I have been walking forever. I’m tired, so I know Alicia is. And no offense again, but you don’t look so good either.”

Alicia frowns. “She’s right, you know. You’re a little…clammy.”

“You have no way to know that,” Al argues. She dodges Alicia’s attempt to touch her forehead and catches Alicia’s other hand in her own before Alicia can try a second time. “I’m fine,” Al lies. Maybe she should hit herself with another dose of antibiotics, though. Maybe Al had lied to June about feeling totally fine before she took off. Someone had to go looking for John, and Al had been preoccupied with the idea of finding Alicia. And here Alicia is, trying to diagnose Al when June hadn’t even been able to give Al a straight up answer as to what this bug is.

“You’re sure you can handle this?” Alicia asks. Doubt shines in her green eyes, and she puts her hands on her hips.

Al scoffs. “Obviously. I’ve made it this far without being ripped to shreds, haven’t I?”

“Yeah, but normally you don’t seem so shaky,” Alicia points out.

“You worry about you, and I’ll worry about me, yeah?” Al says. “Good.”

Alicia grabs the gun barrel as Al retrieves her trench spikes from a hidden compartment beneath the seats. Alicia watches as Al checks the magazine on the handgun that’s otherwise stayed at her hip so far. Al tucks two loaded magazines into her back pocket and returns the gun to the holster, all while Alicia gawks at her.

“What?” Al says.

“I thought you said you were terrible with handguns.”

Al grins. “I am,” she says. She swipes her sweat dampened hair back from her forehead. “It’s for emergencies,” Al explains.

“How many bullets do you have?”

“Thirty.”

“That’s it?” Alicia exclaims.

“Hey, I didn’t know we were going to be facing off with all the dead in a ten mile radius, okay?” Al snaps.

“Sorry,” Alicia mutters.

“Wait,” Charlie calls. Al pauses with her hand on the back door, but Charlie’s focused on Alicia. “You shouldn’t go out there in just a tank top,” Charlie says.

“I’ll be fine,” Alicia dismisses.

“I think the kid’s right,” Al says. “Too much exposed skin.”

“Because your shirt’s really going to protect you from a set of teeth,” Alicia sneers.

Al doesn’t justify the comment with a response. She snatches her jacket off the top shelf and shoves it into Alicia’s chest. “It’s something, at least,” Al says. “Might save you a few scratches.”

Al studies the way Alicia looks to Charlie, and only when Charlie nods does Alicia slide her arms into Al’s jacket. She pops the collar and buttons one of the buttons in the middle of the jacket to hold it together. It’s a little loose on her, and she has to roll the sleeves to keep her hands free. Alicia picks the gun barrel back up and slaps it against her other hand.

“You ready?” Alicia asks.

“Not at all,” Al admits. She pauses, locking eyes with Charlie. “If something happens to us, kid, the keys are in the ignition still,” Al tells her. “I’m sure you’ll figure out the rest.”

“Don’t let anything happen and that won’t be a problem,” Charlie replies.

“And no matter what,” Alicia says sternly, pointing her finger at Charlie, “stay in here.”

“Got it,” Charlie says.

“But just in case,” Al says. She digs around the van for a moment and comes up with a knife. She holds it by the sheathed blade and offers it to Charlie. Charlie takes the knife tentatively. “You know how to use that, right?” Al asks.

“Al,” Alicia says in disbelief. “It’s a knife.”

“Hey, I don’t know if the kid’s ever killed anything with a knife before.”

“Well, if it comes down to it, she won’t have much of a choice, will she?” Alicia says.

“Guys,” Charlie interrupts. “I’ll be fine. Just go.”

Al’s eyes lock with Alicia’s. Alicia’s jaw sets, and there’s nothing except determination written into her features.

“Two of us against three hundred corpses?” Al says, exhaling heavily. “What can go wrong?”

A smile flickers on Alicia’s face. “You need to think more positively. Every one we kill is one less in the world.”

“But just one of them has to get to us,” Al replies. “The odds aren’t in our favor.” She exhales through her mouth and wills herself not to feel so lightheaded. She adjusts her grip on the trench spike, grasping the door handle in her other hand.

“Don’t think about that,” Charlie suggests.

“Yeah,” Alicia agrees. “Think happy thoughts.”

“Shut it, Clark.”

Alicia laughs, but Al grimaces and throws the back door open. She immediately plants her boot against the shoulder of the nearest dead and kicks him back into his buddies, giving Al and Alicia enough space to slip out of the van and shut the doors behind them.

“We’ve got this,” Alicia says, but Al’s pretty sure she’s talking more to herself than to her.

“Yeah,” Al says anyway. “We totally do.”

Al and Alicia each kill a walker at the same time. Alicia, though, is faster on average. The way she kills is almost graceful. One second she’s stabbing the barrel through an eye socket, the next she’s swinging it like a bat. All her movements flow together.

God, Al needs to focus. One of the dead nearly gets her, and Al sends the spike into its skull moments before its teeth can clamp down on her arm. She shoves it to the ground, and another one immediately comes at her. They’re relentless, these fuckers. Close calls like that one used to spook Al, used to leave terror coursing through her veins for hours. Now, she just feels tired.

Alicia shows no sign of fatigue. One after another, the dead fall at Alicia’s feet. The dead are actually beginning to thin out, thanks to Alicia’s efforts. With each of the dead that Al kills, the exhaustion sets in deeper.

“Hey,” Alicia breathes out, “are you –?”

She cuts herself off as Al collapses to the pavement, barely capable of bracing herself for the fall. Al grunts, but she’s only just staying conscious as it is. There’s no way she’ll be able to get back on her feet. Whatever bug she had, it definitely isn’t gone.

Alicia might as well be a thousand miles away. Al can’t hear anything she’s saying, and she’s hardly aware of the dead that continue to rapidly fall around her. The first opening Alicia creates, she gets Al under the arms and drags her up into the van.

“Charlie!” Alicia calls. “Give me a hand!”

“What happened?” Charlie asks, eyes wide.

“She collapsed,” Alicia answers. “I don’t know what’s going on, but there are more – just watch her, okay? I’ll be right back.”

Alicia lays Al on the floor, in the aisle between the seats, and rushes out the back to slaughter more of the incoming dead before they have the chance to overwhelm her, especially now that Al’s out of the fight. Charlie hovers over Al, unsure of what to do or say. Al struggles to remain conscious. She’s not going to be any help to Alicia now, that’s for sure, but she can at the very least keep her eyes open.

“What’s going on?” Charlie whispers. She clutches onto Al’s arm, and it gives Al something to focus on. Al only just manages to bring her hand to the gun at her hip and tap it to get Charlie’s attention.

“Take it,” Al mumbles. “To Alicia.”

Charlie nods vigorously and wiggles the gun free. Al grabs her arm to stop her and shifts enough to pull the two loaded magazines from her back pocket. Charlie takes those as well, and Al would warn her to be careful if she thought she could speak again. Instead she exhales raggedly and closes her eyes. The next thing she knows, she hears gunshots. Al counts them off until they briefly stop, picking back up after Alicia reloads. Alicia empties two of the magazines before long, and Charlie kneels next to Al, fear etched into her features.

Charlie grasps onto Al’s shoulder, waiting until Al looks up at her to speak. “There’s too many,” Charlie says. “Alicia can’t take them all!”

“Get her in here,” Al says through her teeth. “Then pull the lever.”

Charlie falters. “Are you sure?”

“_Yes_.”

Charlie rushes off to retrieve Alicia. Al doubts Alicia will listen. She’ll be out there trying to kill all those things until she collapses from the exertion. It takes some arguing, though Al flickers in and out while it occurs, but Alicia does eventually stomp back into the van. Al hears the doors slam shut, and Charlie heads for the guns.

“What are you doing?” Alicia blurts.

“What Al told me to,” Charlie replies.

Charlie pulls the lever, and every last bullet is fired from the van’s guns. Alicia stares out the back window, chest heaving, then looks back to Al. Did she look that bad when they first arrived? Alicia can’t remember.

“Stay with her,” Alicia orders. “I’ll be right back.”

“What are you doing?” Charlie asks.

“Cleaning up the rest.”

“Then what do we do?” Charlie frets. She sits cross-legged near Al’s head but never takes her eyes off Alicia. “There’s so many. We can’t drive through them.”

“I’ll figure it out,” Alicia assures her. “For now, stay here.”

“I can help,” Charlie insists.

“You can help by staying here,” Alicia says. “Start looking for medical supplies. Al’s got to have something in here somewhere.”

Charlie nods. Alicia heads back out to kill the few dead that weren’t mowed down by Al’s guns. Every step she takes, she’s forced to step over at least one body. They aren’t going to be able to drive out of here unless Alicia drags these bodies out of the way. Unless she wants to chance driving through the lake. And she doesn’t. Her muscles don’t just ache, though – they scream for her to stop, to lie down and not get back up for a few days.

But Alicia can’t stop. The guns, she hates to admit, did a lot of the heavy lifting for her. There are only a few of the dead left. She kills them with the barrel, figuring it’s best to save the last magazine for the handgun for a real emergency, so the gun stays jammed into her waistband.

When the dead have all ceased moving, Alicia returns to the van and drops her ass onto the step, exhaling heavily. Her heart pounds in her chest, her mouth is dry, and she’s sweating. She fights her way out of Al’s jacket and heads back inside. Alicia returns the jacket to where Al had grabbed it from and drops the bloodied gun barrel to the floor.

“Find anything?” she asks Charlie.

Charlie shakes her head. “It’s probably locked up.”

“The keys are in the ignition,” Alicia reminds.

“Are you sure it’s the right key?” Charlie asks.

“No,” Alicia admits. “But we have to try, right?”

“Yeah.” Charlie pauses, touching her hand to Al’s forehead. “She’s not conscious,” she tells Alicia. “And she’s hot.”

Alicia raises her eyebrows. “Hot?”

“She has a fever,” Charlie clarifies.

“Oh. Right,” Alicia says. “Obviously. Okay, just sit tight.”

Alicia climbs into the front and frees the key from the ignition. There are five fucking keys on this ring. What a pain in the ass. Alicia makes a mental note of which key is for the van itself then returns to the back.

“We’re just going to leave her on the floor?” Charlie questions.

Alicia sighs. “Can you lift her?”

“No.”

“Exactly,” Alicia says. She holds the keys out to Charlie. “Start exploring.”

“What are you going to do?”

Alicia lies across the seat and closes her eyes. “I’m taking a break,” Alicia answers. “Every part of my body hurts.”

“You should’ve let me help.”

“If you would’ve gotten hurt, it’d be my fault,” Alicia says. “Find where Al keeps all the medical supplies then wake me up. Or wake me up if she regains consciousness.” Alicia pauses, and her eyes pop open. “She’s not dead, right?”

Charlie glares at Alicia from across the aisle. “Of course she’s not dead,” Charlie says. “I would know.”

“Keep that knife handy.”

“Alicia! You’re not funny!”

Alicia smiles wearily. “You’re right. Sorry.”

Charlie shakes her head and continues trying to unlock the different compartments around the van. Alicia dozes off and wakes up on her own sometime later. All of her muscles still ache, but it’s dulled into a manageable kind of pain. At least until she sits up.

“Al’s still unconscious,” Charlie informs. “Or maybe she’s asleep. I don’t know.”

“Let’s find out,” Alicia grunts. She nudges Al’s arm with the toe of her boot until Al starts to stir. “Asleep,” Alicia announces. “Did you find –?”

Charlie tosses a makeup bag across the aisle into Alicia’s lap, and Alicia stares in confusion at it for a moment. She unzips the bag and finds it packed not with makeup but with pills and bandages.

“I thought there would be makeup in it,” Charlie says sheepishly. “I guess I’m lucky I checked.”

“Why would I have makeup in here?” Al grumbles.

“Hey! Stay down,” Alicia commands. She pushes down on Al’s shoulder with her boot, gently, and Al drops back to the floor.

“Why am I on the floor?” Al asks.

“You passed out,” Alicia says nonchalantly. “How do you feel?”

“Like I was hit by a truck.”

“What’s wrong?” Charlie jumps in. “Are you sick?”

“Something like that,” Al says. “I don’t know. June had some ideas, but I think they were all wrong.”

“What were her ideas?” Alicia asks.

“Cholera. Dengue fever. You know, normal shit. I’m surprised she didn’t say, like, malaria or yellow fever or dysentery.”

Alicia makes a face. “Please don’t tell me you have symptoms of dysentery.”

Al grins up at Alicia. “You know what dysentery is? I’m surprised.”

“I learned about it in history,” Alicia dismisses. “Soldiers died of dysentery during –”

“History lesson later, please,” Charlie interrupts. “What do we do?”

“Start by getting me off the goddamn floor,” Al suggests. “Pardon my language. I’m having a rough day.”

“I’m _twelve_,” Charlie says. “I’m practically a grownup.”

Alicia stifles her snort with her hand and chooses not to engage when Charlie stares at her indignantly. Alicia stands and stretches upward. She waves Charlie over then holds her hand out to Al.

“C’mon,” Alicia says. “We’ll pull you up. Charlie, take her other hand.”

“Don’t take her hand,” Charlie argues. “Grab her arm. Her hand’s all sweaty.”

“Sorry,” Al says. “If I could control it –”

“Okay, enough,” Alicia cuts in. She grasps onto Al’s forearm as Charlie does the same on Al’s other side. “Just pull her up and get her on the seat, Charlie.”

Together, they pull Al up into a seated position on the floor, and with great difficulty, they manage to get her up onto the seats. She immediately lies down, pressing her back against the side of the van, and Alicia rubs at her sore arms.

“You’re heavy,” Alicia complains.

Al grins and laughs breathlessly. She swallows hard then motions toward the makeup bag. “Find the antibiotics. Maybe they’ll work.”

“If it’s not a virus,” Alicia says. She finds the antibiotics and hands the bottle to Al. “Charlie, find her some water, please.”

“I don’t need water.”

“You need water,” Alicia says sharply. “Unless this is rabies.”

“It’s not rabies!”

Alicia smiles. “I know. But June guessed dengue fever, so I can guess some ridiculous shit, too.” She takes the bottle of water from Charlie and forces it into Al’s hand. “Drink that,” Alicia says. “Or I’ll pour it down your throat.”

“I’ll spit it right back into your face, Alicia Clark.”

“I’ll murder you.”

Charlie clears her throat. “If you guys are done, we have work to do. Remember?”

“Take those,” Alicia says. She turns to Charlie. “You up for moving bodies?”

“If it’ll get me away from you two, yeah,” Charlie says. Alicia’s eyebrows pull together, but Charlie just smiles. “Make sure she takes those antibiotics,” Charlie says. “I’ll start making us a path.”

“Do you –?”

“I have the knife,” Charlie calls over her shoulder. “I’ll yell if there’s a problem.”

“Go with her,” Al murmurs. “I’m fine.”

“You’re a liar,” Alicia replies. She takes the bottle of antibiotics back from Al, skims the label quickly, then shakes two pills into Al’s hand. “Swallow those. With water.”

“Yes, boss,” Al teases. She takes the antibiotics, swallowing hard and making a face. “Now go make sure Charlie doesn’t get killed out there.”

“The dead are gone,” Alicia says. “I killed them all.”

Al catches Alicia’s wrist in her hand before she can walk away. “You’re exhausted,” Al says.

Alicia shakes Al’s hand off of her. “I’m fine.”

“Now who’s lying?”

Alicia huffs. “You’re sick or whatever. Every muscle in my body hurts, but between the two of us, I’m the one that can stand. You focus on getting un-sick, and I’ll focus on getting us out of here. We can argue about it later.”

Al waits until Alicia’s nearly out of the van before she says, “She’s still alive.”

Alicia’s body tenses. “What?”

“Charlie. She’s still alive,” Al says. “Even though she’s been alone with you for…what? Days? You haven’t killed her.”

“What’s your point?” Alicia hisses.

“Why is she alive?” Al asks. “She killed your brother. You almost killed me to try to kill her. What the hell happened?”

Alicia sighs and runs her hand through her hair. She shakes her head and whispers, “Honestly? I couldn’t do it. I just couldn’t do it, Al.”

She doesn’t like the way Al’s staring at her. Alicia leaves the van and helps Charlie haul corpses off the road until she feels like she’s going to pass out. She’s almost tempted to ask Charlie to drive, but maybe handing the keys of an MRAP to a twelve year old isn’t a good idea. Charlie probably can’t drive a regular old pickup truck as it is.

“Okay,” Alicia says, admiring their work. There’s a newly created path up the road in the opposite direction of the lake. “I think that’s good enough.”

“The sun’s going down,” Charlie points out. “Are we going to drive overnight?”

“No,” Alicia says. “We’re going to drive up the road and find a place to park and rest. We’ll have to worry about finding the others tomorrow.”

“As long as Al’s still alive.”

“Al will be alive,” Alicia dismisses, but once the words leave her mouth, she realizes Charlie’s actually afraid Al’s going to die. Alicia hesitates but pats Charlie on the shoulder awkwardly. “She’ll be fine,” Alicia says with as much certainty as she can muster up. “The antibiotics will fix her.”

“And if they don’t?”

“She’ll fight it off,” Alicia says. Charlie stares at her doubtfully, but Alicia manages a smile she hopes is reassuring and guides Charlie back to the van. “She just needs to sleep a lot,” Alicia says. “And drink water.”

“What if it’s dysentery?”

Alicia laughs, hard, and ushers Charlie up into the van. “It’s not dysentery,” Alicia says. “Dysentery is nasty.”

“What is it?”

“Later,” Alicia says. “You need to sleep. It’s been a long day.”

Charlie pauses. “Maybe we shouldn’t leave Al alone,” she says as Alicia shuts and locks the doors behind them.

“I’ll watch her,” Alicia says. “You go up front. Get some sleep.”

“We can trade off,” Charlie suggests.

“I’ll wake you when I need you,” Alicia tells her. “Go on.”

Al watches the two of them curiously until Charlie climbs into the front seat. Then she watches Alicia. Alicia uses the bottom of her tank top to dab at the sweat on her face then sprawls out on the seats across from Al. Charlie falls asleep quickly, leaving Al and Alicia alone in the back.

“You should sleep,” Alicia says.

“You should.”

Alicia smiles thinly, turning her head so she can stare at Al. “Charlie’s worried you’re going to die, turn, and kill us. She wouldn’t say it, but I know that’s what’s on her mind.”

“No kidding.”

“I can stay up,” Alicia says. “Just to make sure that doesn’t happen.”

“I’ll stay alive,” Al says. “Because I know how devastated you’d be if I died.”

Alicia scoffs. “Yeah, right,” she says. She doesn’t sound convincing to her own ears. “I’ve tried to kill you,” Alicia reminds. “More than once.”

“It happens.”

Alicia laughs harder than necessary, but she blames it on the fatigue. “Sorry,” Alicia says.

“There’s no need to apologize,” Al says. “That’s in the past. Things are different now.”

“How?”

“Because now you like me.”

Alicia splutters. “I do not!”

“You totally do.”

“If I ever liked you, I like you less now,” Alicia replies.

“Ouch.” Al smirks, which Alicia can just barely make out through the darkness. “That’s not even true,” Al says. “Every time we kissed was initiated by you.”

“Because you have no balls.”

“Come here,” Al jokes. “I’ll show you no balls.”

Alicia chuckles. “I’ll pass. You’re all sweaty and gross.”

“I feel great, though,” Al argues. “I mean, way better than when I collapsed earlier.”

“Really?”

“No,” Al laughs. “I could use a shower.”

“Me too.”

“We should do that together,” Al says.

Alicia grins. “That’s an offer?”

“It is.”

“When you’re better,” Alicia agrees.

“And when we aren’t babysitting a twelve year old,” Al adds. “June can take over.”

Alicia huffs. “I’m going to kill June for leaving you.”

“It’s not her fault,” Al says quietly. “I convinced her I was good.”

“Why?”

“I thought I was,” Al admits. “I mean, I still felt shitty but I thought it was going away.”

“It probably was,” Alicia muses. “Then you went out and tried to kill a hundred corpses.”

“We were low on options.”

“I’m not saying – you know, can we just go back to talking about showering together?”

Al laughs then winces, pressing her hand to her stomach. She waves Alicia’s concerns off and slides out of her shirt, dropping it to the floor.

“Oh, we’re taking clothes off now?” Alicia says.

“No,” Al replies. “It’s just hot.”

Alicia frowns and forces herself to get up. She swats Al’s arms away and presses the back of her hand to Al’s forehead. “You’re still warm.”

“I just told you –”

“It’s not that warm in here,” Alicia says. She wipes Al’s sweat off the back of her hand on Al’s tank top.

“Wait,” Al murmurs, catching Alicia’s hand in hers. She flattens Alicia’s palm on her forehead. “Your hand’s cold.”

Alicia smiles and takes a seat on the floor beside Al without moving her hand. “Can I say something weird?” Alicia asks.

“Yeah.”

“You kinda look good all sweaty.”

They laugh together, and Alicia changes hands as Al grins at her. “That was weird,” Al says, “but oddly flattering.”

“Shut up.”

“I knew you liked me,” Al says, letting her eyes close.

Alicia hums. “You’re alright. Sometimes.”

“Thanks.”

There’s a pause. “So what?” Alicia asks. “You don’t like me?”

“I didn’t say that. You’re alright. Sometimes.”

Alicia laughs, and she holds back her next comment as Charlie wakes up in the front. “Shit,” Alicia whispers.

“Are you guys okay?” Charlie asks sleepily.

“We’re fine,” Alicia says. “Go back to sleep.”

“I can take over.”

“No,” Alicia says. “In a few more hours, okay? I’m good.”

“You just don’t want to leave me,” Al says quietly enough that Charlie won’t hear.

Alicia shushes her anyway. “Don’t push my buttons too much, Al,” Alicia warns. “Or I’ll let Charlie drive tomorrow.”

“You should totally let Charlie drive,” Al says. “She needs to learn some time.”

“What’s this about Charlie driving?” Charlie asks, twisting around in the seat. Her whole face lights up, and Alicia shakes her head quickly.

“No!” Alicia says. “No driving. Not until you’re at least fifteen.”

“Fourteen,” Al amends. “But you can drive a regular car when you’re thirteen.”

Charlie beams. “That’s in a couple months!”

“You’re teaching her,” Alicia says flatly.

“Fine with me,” Al agrees. “Now sleep, kid. You have to be up in a couple of hours to talk to me for the rest of the night.”

“You should sleep, too,” Alicia says. She strokes her fingers through Al’s hair.

“You worry about you,” Al says, “and I’ll worry about me.”

“No,” Alicia says. “I thought we determined that I like you. I’m going to worry about you.”

“It’s a waste of effort,” Al says. “There’s no reason to worry.”

“Because you’re going to be fine?”

“Of course,” Al says. “I’m not dying like _this_. I’m going out in a blaze of glory.”

Alicia rolls her eyes. “You and me both.”

Al refuses to sleep while Alicia’s up, and they talk about a bit of everything until Al forces Alicia to switch off with Charlie. Alicia only agrees because she has to drive in the morning, and she shouldn’t drive while she’s dead tired. So Alicia trades off with Charlie and knocks out in the front seat with her legs braced up on the dashboard. Charlie wakes Alicia up sometime after sunrise and laughs at her for sleeping with her mouth open.

“How’s Al?” Alicia mumbles, rubbing her eyes.

“Asleep,” Charlie says. “She’s not sweating so bad anymore.”

“Good,” Alicia groans. She hauls herself over into the driver’s seat and motions for Charlie to take her place. “Seatbelt on.”

“Geez, I know.”

“Try the radio,” Alicia says. “If we’re lucky, Strand or Luci will hear us.”

“Or June or John,” Charlie says. “Or Morgan.”

Alicia hums in response, but she’s hoping it’ll be Strand or Luciana. They hit the road, and Charlie tries the radio every ten minutes or so. They’ve been driving nearly an hour when they finally get a response.

“Hello?” a male voice says.

Alicia leans over and snatches the radio away from Charlie. “Strand, it’s me,” Alicia says.

“Alicia?”

“Where are you?” Alicia demands. “I’ve got Charlie and Al, but Al’s sick.”

Strand gives her a location, and Alicia tells Charlie to find the place on the map. “It’s not far,” Charlie says.

“We’re on our way,” Alicia tells Strand. She drives a little faster than she should, and before long, the van rolls up on a mansion. A literal mansion. Alicia’s eyebrows pull together, but she throws the van in park when Strand stumbles out the front door.

“Is he okay?” Charlie asks.

“Yeah,” Alicia says. “Of course.”

He’s drunk off his rocker, but Charlie doesn’t need to know that. At least not right now. Alicia hops out of the van to meet Strand, and Strand grins lazily and lifts his arms.

“Good to see you alive,” he says, crushing Alicia in an embrace. He pats her on the back a few times and staggers back. “Where’s your friend?”

“In the van,” Alicia says. “And I was hoping you’d be able to help, but it seems like you’ve got a problem of your own.”

“I’m fine,” he dismisses.

“Is Luci here?”

“Inside.”

“Stay with Al,” Alicia tells Charlie. “I’ll be right back.”

Alicia hurries into the mansion with Strand slowly making his way back, taking care not to end up on his ass, and she seeks out Luciana. She starts with the room that has music coming from it, and she finds Luciana slumped on the floor against the wall, a bottle of wine in hand.

“Luci?” Alicia says.

“Alicia?”

Luciana shoves herself to her feet, swaying slightly, and she sets the bottle aside. “What are you doing here?”

“The hurricane’s over,” Alicia says. “And Al’s sick. We came to find you.”

Luciana nods solemnly. “This place has a wine cellar,” she whispers, rather loudly though. She grins and grasps onto Alicia’s shoulders. “It’s good wine, Alicia.”

“Yes, I can smell it,” Alicia says. She pries Luciana’s hands off her shoulders. “We need to get Al in here.”

“Strand can –”

“Strand can barely stand on his own,” Alicia interrupts. She helps Luciana sit back down and mutters, “And neither can you, apparently. Forget it. I’ll handle it.”

“I’ve got it handled,” Al says from the doorway, startling Alicia.

“Why are you up?” Alicia demands.

“I’m good,” Al says, flashing a smile. “Not really, but I’m better.”

“I couldn’t stop her,” Charlie says breathlessly.

Alicia scowls and ushers Al into the nearest chair. Strand offers them wine, and Alicia takes the bottle away from him. “No more wine,” she says. “We’re all going to be sober, and then we’ll go from there.”

“Why should we be sober?” Luciana grumbles from across the room. Alicia stands beside Al, hand on her shoulder, and Strand eyes them but doesn’t say anything. “Everything is shit,” Luciana continues. “If we want to be drunk, we’re going to be drunk.”

“Leave them alone,” Al says. “They can be drunk for now.”

“No offense,” Strand says, “but you guys stink. You need to shower.”

“Thanks,” Alicia says wryly. “We’ll get right on that.”

“There’s running water,” Strand informs. “So you actually should get on that.”

Charlie asks Strand about John, June, and Morgan while Alicia takes off to explore the mansion a little. She roams the upstairs until she finds a bedroom she likes, with a connected bathroom, and claims it as her own. She returns to her friends to find Luciana passed out on the floor and Strand dancing by himself to the music that’s still playing.

“Charlie,” Alicia says. “Go find a room for tonight, okay?”

“What about them?” Charlie asks, motioning toward Strand and Luciana.

Alicia hesitates. “They’re fine,” she lies. “Just go.”

“What about you?”

“I’m gonna get Al upstairs,” Alicia says. “And then I’m showering. You should, too.”

Charlie nods. “Do you need help with her?”

Alicia smirks. “Since she’s so convinced that she’s good, no.”

Charlie dashes off into the mansion, and Alicia pulls Al up onto her feet. Al grasps onto Alicia’s shoulder but stays upright, blinking a few times. “The world’s spinning,” Al says, “but just a little.”

“Too bad,” Alicia says. “Come on. I hope you can climb stairs.”

“I can’t.”

Alicia laughs and escorts Al up the stairs. Al grips onto the railing with one hand and onto Alicia with the other. They reach the top without falling.

“You lied,” Alicia says. “You _can _climb stairs.”

“Shut up.”

“Come on,” Alicia says, tugging Al to the bedroom she selected. “I think I got Charlie, Strand, and Luciana out of our hair.”

“What?”

“God, you don’t remember last night?” Alicia says, shaking her head. “That’s a shame.”

She locks the bedroom door. Al lowers herself onto the side of the bed, eyebrows raising as Alicia pulls her shirt over her head.

“What are you doing?” Al asks.

“I’m going to shower,” Alicia says. “So I’m hoping your offer from last night stands.”

“You could’ve just said we’re going to shower together,” Al replies. She yanks her boots off. “I thought you wanted to wait until I’m better.”

Alicia rolls her eyes and fights her way out of her jeans. “We’re just showering together.”

“That’s it?”

“Until you’re better.”

“Fuck you.”

“That’s the idea,” Alicia laughs. She disappears into the bathroom and flings her remaining clothes back into the bedroom. “You coming?”

“If I don’t pass out first.”

“You better not pass out,” Alicia calls. “I’m not coming to get you.”

She turns the shower on, and she could almost cry when water comes out of the tap. She gets into the shower without waiting for Al, the glass door banging shut, and Alicia immediately starts rinsing the grime from her face. There’s even soap. Shampoo. _Conditioner_. Alicia hears Al enter the bathroom, and Alicia starts laughing.

“I could cry,” Alicia says. “Look! There’s soap.”

“That’s something to celebrate,” Al agrees. She steps into the shower and nudges Alicia out of the way when she doesn’t automatically move. Al’s taller, though, and all she has to do is poke her head under the spray and block the water from reaching Alicia.

“Don’t make me fight you,” Alicia warns. “It’s slippery in here –”

“And we’re naked.”

“And we’re…naked,” Alicia says, like she’s just realized it or something. “Right.”

“I need this more than you do,” Al argues. She runs her hands through her wet hair and sighs in contentment, letting the water hit her face.

“Move,” Alicia growls. She grabs Al by the waist and moves her out of the way.

“This was a bad idea,” Al chuckles.

“It’s fine, if you stay out of my way,” Alicia replies.

Al grins. She grabs Alicia’s wrist before Alicia can pick up the shampoo, and Alicia falters.

“What’s the rush?” Al murmurs. “We’ve got all the time in the world.”

**Author's Note:**

> So I am working on Breathe, and I've still got the Al/Isabelle project on the back burner, but I hope you enjoyed the third prequel to Crash! I have an idea for at least one more, so that could be coming in the future as well!
> 
> As always, thanks for reading! I'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments, and I'll respond as quickly as possible!


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